4 teens sentenced in school vandalism

The four teenagers who confessed to a vandalism spree at Sandusky’s Maple Valley School were sentenced in Sanilac County Juvenile Court last week.

The 14-year-old males, all from Sandusky, pled guilty in September in connection with the incidents last May 22 and 23, during which the school was entered several times, through an unlocked back door.

Three of the four teens actually committed the vandalism, while the fourth was part of the group but did not participate in the destruction - shooting BB guns at walls and ceilings, discharging fire extinguishers, shooting off fireworks, urinating on wrestling mats and spray-painting the back of the building.

All four pled to one count of breaking and entering – illegal entry without owner’s permission. Plea bargain agreements for the three responsible for the destruction saw the dismissal of two additional counts of breaking and entering and malicious destruction of property.

Terms of the sentences include joint restitution, for all four, in the amount of $16,026.92, up from an earlier estimate $14,000.

The teen that was there but did not participate in the vandalism received 20 hours of community service, while the other three were sentenced to 50 hours.

All four must write letters of apology to Sandusky Community Schools, and a 300-word essay with the theme, “Why I should response public property.”

Detention in a juvenile detention facility was held in abeyance pending completion of probation.

A fifth teenager arrested in the incident was referred to his home county of St. Clair County for punishment.